Picture shows Radyr Station in 1959
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See below for details about the Radyr and Morganstown Local History Society - and the talks and events it arranges.
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Introduction
The Parish of Radyr came into existence soon after the Norman Conquest of Wales around the beginning of the 12th century. From the Norman period we have St. John the Baptist’s church and the Morganstown Motte. This earthwork suggests that for a short period during the Norman Conquest the boundary between Norman lands and those of the Welsh princes ran along the foot of Caerphilly Mountain.
The area had had a long history before the Conquest. Archaeological findings suggest that the Lesser Garth Cave (behind the Ty Nant Inn) was inhabited from the Stone Age onwards.
Place name evidence suggests that dark age princes might have had a residence at what is now the golf course. The sixteenth green covers what was once Maerdy Cottage and the “Maer”, whose house this would have been, was an official at the court of Welsh princes.
Lifris’ “Life of St Cadog” written in the 11th century, but referring back to the period around 530 AD, also mentions a villa or a “tref” called Aradur Hen. Lifris also tells the tale of Tylyway a hermit who lived on the banks of the Taff and Tylyway’s cell is the most likely origin of the name Radyr; from the Welsh yr adur, meaning the chantry.
The Mathew family of Radyr Court became involved in ironworking in the Tudor period. There is even a suggestion that cannon made in the Mathew foundry at Gwaelod y Garth, found their way onto the Spanish Armada.
The five settlements
Although the parish has been made up of twenty to thirty scattered farms since the Norman Conquest there have been five settlements:
Local history books:
Twixt Chain and Gorge was originally published in 1991 by the New Horizons History Group. It provides an excellent history of Radyr and Morganstown.
The book records the history of Radyr and Morganstown from the First Account of the hermit’s cell and ford, the Mathews family, Lords of the Manor of Radyr, The Civil War, Industry, railways, people, religion and education through the Edwardian era to the First World War. This book is now out of print, but a pdf file of it can be downloaded here.
A second book, Memories of Radyr and Morganstown, was published in 1993. This was the second volume dealing with the history of Radyr and Morganstown produced by the Local History Group.
Although this is a companion volume to “Twixt Chain and Gorge”, bringing the history of the two villages well into the twentieth century, it differs considerably from the first. It tells the story of the two villages in the words of those of the contributors themselves with a minimum of notes linking them. This book is now out of print, but a pdf file of it can be downloaded here.
Reminiscences of the Reverend William David. This was the first of the Society’s ‘Occasional Publications’, and was originally issued in 1997. It is a fascinating account of the history of Radyr & Morganstown, written at the end of the 19th century. Available here. [NB This scan has been taken from the paired pages of an unbound copy, and needs to be read in ‘criss-cross’ fashion, following the page numbers carefully].
Wartime Memories of Radyr and Morganstown People. This book contains personal Memories of the war years - and is not strictly a Local History Society publication. It was compiled by Allan Cook using audio recordings - and published with assistance from lottery grants. You can download it here.
Local history DVD
The DVD, called 5,000 years of History includes rarely seen footage of some of the contents of the Lesser Garth Cave, the Plymouth Estate maps, the earliest film footage of Radyr and Morganstown and a selection from the Local History Society’s extensive collection of photographs, some seen for the first time.Radyr and Morganstown Local History Society have produced a 44 minute DVD. In it presenter Robin Jones looks at the History of the parish of Radyr over the past five millennia; from the earliest known habitation in the Lesser Garth Cave, though the Roman period, the period of minor Welsh kings and princes to the Norman Conquest.
We follow the growth of the villages of old Radyr – now Danescourt – Groeswen, Morganstown and lastly modern Radyr. We see how the Mathew family, lords of the Manor of Radyr in the Tudor period encouraged the growth of early industry. How this early industry developed a tramway linking the ironworks in Gwaelod y Garth to Melingriffith and how this affected the development and growth of railways in the parish.
The DVD is available from Allan Cook, 54 Pentwyn, Radyr, CF15 8RE for £6.00, including postage and packaging.
Radyr and Morganstown Local History Society
The society meets regularly at the Old Church Rooms for a series of talks on topics of local interest. Recent talks have included the History of Cardiff, the Vikings in Wales and the Parish of Pentyrch. We also organise local history walks, including walking the Penarth Docks. Recent trips took in Caerleon, Dinefwr Castle, New Town House, Llanmihangel and Highclere Castle.
The committee consists of Allan Cook (Chairman: [email protected]), Brian Pearce (Treasurer), Marie John, Maureen Morgan, Janet Pearce, Jane Parry and Jane Woodward.
History Society Events
Here are the events planned for 2019/20. Please note that all of the evening events are held at the Old Church Rooms.
Want to know more?
You are very welcome to join the Society. Contact them here to do so.
In the meantime, you may enjoy this Wikipedia article, written by a local resident.
The Parish of Radyr came into existence soon after the Norman Conquest of Wales around the beginning of the 12th century. From the Norman period we have St. John the Baptist’s church and the Morganstown Motte. This earthwork suggests that for a short period during the Norman Conquest the boundary between Norman lands and those of the Welsh princes ran along the foot of Caerphilly Mountain.
The area had had a long history before the Conquest. Archaeological findings suggest that the Lesser Garth Cave (behind the Ty Nant Inn) was inhabited from the Stone Age onwards.
Place name evidence suggests that dark age princes might have had a residence at what is now the golf course. The sixteenth green covers what was once Maerdy Cottage and the “Maer”, whose house this would have been, was an official at the court of Welsh princes.
Lifris’ “Life of St Cadog” written in the 11th century, but referring back to the period around 530 AD, also mentions a villa or a “tref” called Aradur Hen. Lifris also tells the tale of Tylyway a hermit who lived on the banks of the Taff and Tylyway’s cell is the most likely origin of the name Radyr; from the Welsh yr adur, meaning the chantry.
The Mathew family of Radyr Court became involved in ironworking in the Tudor period. There is even a suggestion that cannon made in the Mathew foundry at Gwaelod y Garth, found their way onto the Spanish Armada.
The five settlements
Although the parish has been made up of twenty to thirty scattered farms since the Norman Conquest there have been five settlements:
- A small hamlet of three or four houses near to St. John’s Church, which almost certainly ended with the Black Death.
- Groeswen. A second small hamlet of four or five dwellings at the junction of Heol Isaf and the Llantrisant Road. It gets its name from a white cross that would have marked the pilgrim route from Llandaff to the shrine of Our Lady in Penrhys. Interestingly, one of the dwellings – possibly the blacksmith’s shop – is shown as being in the middle of the road on the 1766 Plymouth estate map. It existed until the road was widened in the late 19th century.
- Morganstown. This developed as a village for industrial workers in the early 19th century. Built on a farm called Ty’n y Berllan this was the first name for the village. It was then called Pentre and Pentrepoeth before becoming Treforgan and finally Morganstown. The only explanation for the name Morganstown is that Ty’n y Berllan farm was owned by a Morgan Williams.
- Radyr. Modern Radyr grew up alongside the Taff Vale Railway marshalling yard and the station which took many of the early “docksmen” to their daily work.
- Danescourt. A new development of the late 20th century. Its name comes from some unlikely administrative logic. Before the building of Danescourt there were two buildings in the area, Radyr Court Farm and Danesbrook House. The planners at County Hall put the two together to create Danescourt and unfortunately the area has no known links with the Danes.
Local history books:
Twixt Chain and Gorge was originally published in 1991 by the New Horizons History Group. It provides an excellent history of Radyr and Morganstown.
The book records the history of Radyr and Morganstown from the First Account of the hermit’s cell and ford, the Mathews family, Lords of the Manor of Radyr, The Civil War, Industry, railways, people, religion and education through the Edwardian era to the First World War. This book is now out of print, but a pdf file of it can be downloaded here.
A second book, Memories of Radyr and Morganstown, was published in 1993. This was the second volume dealing with the history of Radyr and Morganstown produced by the Local History Group.
Although this is a companion volume to “Twixt Chain and Gorge”, bringing the history of the two villages well into the twentieth century, it differs considerably from the first. It tells the story of the two villages in the words of those of the contributors themselves with a minimum of notes linking them. This book is now out of print, but a pdf file of it can be downloaded here.
Reminiscences of the Reverend William David. This was the first of the Society’s ‘Occasional Publications’, and was originally issued in 1997. It is a fascinating account of the history of Radyr & Morganstown, written at the end of the 19th century. Available here. [NB This scan has been taken from the paired pages of an unbound copy, and needs to be read in ‘criss-cross’ fashion, following the page numbers carefully].
Wartime Memories of Radyr and Morganstown People. This book contains personal Memories of the war years - and is not strictly a Local History Society publication. It was compiled by Allan Cook using audio recordings - and published with assistance from lottery grants. You can download it here.
Local history DVD
The DVD, called 5,000 years of History includes rarely seen footage of some of the contents of the Lesser Garth Cave, the Plymouth Estate maps, the earliest film footage of Radyr and Morganstown and a selection from the Local History Society’s extensive collection of photographs, some seen for the first time.Radyr and Morganstown Local History Society have produced a 44 minute DVD. In it presenter Robin Jones looks at the History of the parish of Radyr over the past five millennia; from the earliest known habitation in the Lesser Garth Cave, though the Roman period, the period of minor Welsh kings and princes to the Norman Conquest.
We follow the growth of the villages of old Radyr – now Danescourt – Groeswen, Morganstown and lastly modern Radyr. We see how the Mathew family, lords of the Manor of Radyr in the Tudor period encouraged the growth of early industry. How this early industry developed a tramway linking the ironworks in Gwaelod y Garth to Melingriffith and how this affected the development and growth of railways in the parish.
The DVD is available from Allan Cook, 54 Pentwyn, Radyr, CF15 8RE for £6.00, including postage and packaging.
Radyr and Morganstown Local History Society
The society meets regularly at the Old Church Rooms for a series of talks on topics of local interest. Recent talks have included the History of Cardiff, the Vikings in Wales and the Parish of Pentyrch. We also organise local history walks, including walking the Penarth Docks. Recent trips took in Caerleon, Dinefwr Castle, New Town House, Llanmihangel and Highclere Castle.
The committee consists of Allan Cook (Chairman: [email protected]), Brian Pearce (Treasurer), Marie John, Maureen Morgan, Janet Pearce, Jane Parry and Jane Woodward.
History Society Events
Here are the events planned for 2019/20. Please note that all of the evening events are held at the Old Church Rooms.
- Thursday March 14th at 7.30pm: Confessions of a Trolleybus Enthusiast. Stephen Phillips, a trolleybus enthusiast since childhood, will give his delightful talk on the Cardiff Trolleybus.
- Thursday April 11th at 7.30pm: Peter Finch will give a talk on his new book, Real Cardiff, the Flourishing City.
- Sunday May 5th at 2.00pm: Festival Walk: Meet at the entrance to the Quarry on Ynys Bridge Road. We will be given a guided tour of the Quarry and will then proceed through Morganstown. It will end at the Guide Hut. Be aware that the football competition will be going on at the Mound Field, and that there will be little parking around Pugh's.
- Thursday 23rd May. A visit to Insole Court: Meet in the Potting Shed Cafe at 10.15am. Insole Court has had a great deal of work done over the past few year's under the newly formed Trust. There is plenty of parking in the large car park near to the Cafe.
- Thursday 20th June: A visit to the Great Western Railway Museum in Swindon and Lydiard Park and Church. The society's annual coach trip. Leaving Radyr between 8.30 and 8.45am. The society will visit the Railway Museum in the morning and Lydiard Park and Church in the afternoon. Lunch will be available in the many food outlets at McArthur Glen, next to the Railway Museum. This will be a mix and match day. Some people will prefer to visit McArthur Glen then go onto Lydiard, while others will want to spend the whole day at the Railway Museum. All variations are possible.
- Thursday 19th September. A visit to Cardiff Castle: When did you last visit Cardiff's Castle? If not recently then you'll find that it has changed a great deal. Meet for coffee at 10.30am in the Castle Cafe.
- Thursday 17th October at 7.30pm: Graham Davies on his latest book You are Legend, The Welsh Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. Including Robert Trail from Radyr who died near Madrid in 1937.
- Thursday 14th November. At 7.30pm: Gloucester historian Paul Barnett on Lydney's Lost Fleet.
- Thursday 9th Jan 2020: Annual Dinner.
- Thursday 13th Feb 2020: A.G.M.
Want to know more?
You are very welcome to join the Society. Contact them here to do so.
In the meantime, you may enjoy this Wikipedia article, written by a local resident.